India needs to further improve ease of doing business ranking: Cherie Blair

New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) India needs to further improve its ease of doing business ranking as in the next 20 years it is set to become the world's second largest economy, British lawyer and human rights campaigner Cherie Blair today said.

India is the only large country in 2017 to have achieved such a significant shift on the back of reforms in taxation, construction permits, investor protection and bankruptcy resolution.

Underlining that India's place in the world has changed for the better, Blair said there is a need for further improvements.

"It is great that India's ranking has improved for ease of doing business to 100 but given the predictions that in the next 20 years India is going to be the second largest economy in the world, the ease of doing business should be better than this," the 63-year-old lawyer said.

She also praised India's support to globalisation.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an advocate of globalisation and is one of the few world leaders speaking against protectionism," she said.

"President (Donald) Trump is no friend of globalisation unless it puts America first. Even the UK is going down track by turning back on trading relationship with European partners but India's position has strengthened," she said while delivering a lecture on 'Elevated Aspirations for Investment into India'.

The wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair also talked about how bringing gender parity would help in development of India.

A group of senior government, military judiciary and civil society members participated in a discussion on making a favourable environment for attracting foreign direct investment into India. The event was organised by Global Dialogue Review magazine. PTI UZM ZMN ZMN

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